My dear brother,
Wow. Jerrod sounds like a peach and a half. Going to work with an ex-pirate, bro? Really? I taught you better than this. Full pirate or bust!
But seriously, you are getting in so over your head, I can tell, and half of me just wants to sit back and watch the railwyrmwreck. But the other half of me is kinda scared shitless for you. So let me just tell you this, sage advice, sis to bro:
Bro.
Bro.
If every single local resident is giving you, the Western dude with the stockman who "doesn't seem to like the natives", the ol' stink-eye, maybe there's something a little bit questionable going on here. Ya think?
This does not sound legitimate.
Senya, you literally just wrote to me saying "I wonder if Great-Uncle Yvun, who showed up to our parents' funeral with a fucking fey courtesan on each arm, has done something wrong." Think! You're a carpenter, Senya, you should be able to identify, I dunno, rotten wood or sagging foundations or whatever metaphor you like.
Bro.
Just promise me you won't do anything stupid.
~~~~ ~~~~
Senya awoke with a violent start. His eyes shot open.
He was not in his bedroom.
He was, he realized, in the living room. On the couch. Apparently, Bobbin hadn't seen fit to share him with the puppies during her... encounter.
He rubbed his forehead.
Fuck.
That had
not
been fully consensual. It had been mind-blowing, and he'd absolutely melted under her, but... but it had, um...
He blinked. What had he woken up to, anyways? A bad dream? His dreams hadn't
felt
bad, though he never did remember them. He just had a faint memory of... buzzing.
Senya got up from the couch, still a bit dazed. It was still early in the morning, or maybe late in the night. He was still pretty tired, too. He stumbled over to the little coffee table and picked up a big, ripe fruit, taking a large bite and chewing it messily. In fairness, it was hard to chew
without
making a messāthe fruit was positively bursting with flavorful juiceābut Senya found he was having trouble eating tidily anyways even on his own. He was normally better-mannered than this. But every bite he took felt almost reflexively sloppy.
It was almost like he was hoping, subconsciously... someone would show up to clean him off.
No. He grimaced. No! He was just... he was just in a bad headspace and making assumptions. He was tired, after all.
He polished off the delicious fruit and tossed the pit into a wastebasket, making his way towards the dining room. And then he heard it.
Off in the distance, metal struck and screeched against metal.
Senya spun towards the front door, which was, he realized, barred with three wrought-iron bars. Since when did the door even have that many locks? He ran forward, mind racing. Had Bobbin told him anything about his? Was there something he was supposed to do?
A scream followed suit, muffled but unmistakeably femaleāand unmistakeably behind the door. Senya started sliding the bars across.
He was hearing it more clearly now, now that he was paying attention. There was shouting, alright. Most of it sounded fairly distant and muted, but every now and then something particularly noisy would catch his attentionāa shout, a scream, a metallic clang.
He lifted the last bar and threw the door open. As an afterthought he was somewhat impressed with himself for, he kept the last bar and gripped it like a club. Better to be armed, after all.
Outside, it was still darkāthe sun had not yet even begun to creep over the horizon. Senya stumbled slightly as he ran down the path. There was almost no light, save the stars, and the nut trees that flanked the path did nothing to enhance the illumination.
But he could see the gate. And he could see the silver fence, ten feet tall. Because they were both glowing.
Brilliantly.
In the long shadows cast by the fence fought Bobbin, and Jerrod, and several scrawny shapes wielding scythes.
The scarecrows,
he realized.
But only... maybe five of them. Where's the rest?
There were nineteen on the Ranch, weren't there?
The band fought a much larger forceāall humanoids, and all dressed in dark colors. They had what appeared to be very long noses, but as Senya got closer, he realized they were actual beaks, like those of corvids. Masks?
As he drew within a stone's throw of the gate, he stopped short, feeling the ground rumbling beneath his feet. He clutched at a low branch for balance as brilliant rose briars with equally brilliant red blooms burst out of the ground at Bobbin's feet, entangling her legs.
Bobbin let out an infuriated shriek. Senya took a step forward.
"Ooh, I wouldn't do that!"
Senya almost jumped out of his skin. He whirled about, but he couldn't see anyone. From behind, he heard a small explosion, heralded by several male screams.
"Ooh hoo! Up here, boy!" Senya looked upāand suddenly realized that he wasn't alone. A rather small woman with deep brown skin beamed down at him. "Hi there!"
Senya took a step back, heart pounding with sudden alarm. He had never seen this woman before, he was sure. He'd remember those meticulous braids, the strange spiraling pattern they were woven into to give her head an almost conical appearance. She had a cute heart-shaped face, and very, very bright hazel eyes. She was dressed in baggy burlap clothes that seemed just a little too big for her. He was
sure
he'd never seen her before.
"Who are you?" he demanded, eyes flitting between her and the battle. Bobbin had broken free of the briars and was creating increasingly large blasts of flame. The only trouble was, the fires seemed to evaporate as soon as they crossed past the gate, and the beaked attackers were taking advantage of this to skirt out of her reach whenever she changed her focus. It was like a very deadly game of whackamole.
"Hoo hoo!" The woman giggled. "The name's Coryl, cutie. And I know who
you
are, of course!" Her eyes flickered, and Senya felt roots surge from the ground and snake around his ankles. "I've seen you! But Bobbin asked me to leave you alone."
Senya struggled, but he only succeeded in falling to his knees. He tried to get up, but too lateāroots were already wrapping around one of his wrists, more firmly fastening around his legs to bind him to the dusty earth. "D-did she?" he managed.
"Uh-huh!" She cocked her head, putting a finger to her plump lower lip. "And I'd do
anything
for Bobbin! But, uh..." Her eyes flickered again, and Senya felt the roots wrapping underneath his arms and legs, fully looping around him. "Boy, she
also
asked us nutty girls to keep you from getting into trouble by the gate!"